Photographer hikes and bikes 3,300 miles to study microplastic contamination

Julie Hotz has joined forces with the Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation to study microplastics pollution across the United States. Photo: Julie HotzPhotographer Julie Hotz is roughly halfway through a three-month, 3,350-mile long trip that has brought her from her home in Los Angeles to Montana and, at present, halfway through Washington heading towards the Pacific coast.

She has accomplished each mile either by hiking or biking, and she’s doing it all while studying water contamination across the United States.

“I kind of got hooked on long distance hiking back when I hiked Pacific Crest Trail in 2010 and 2013,” Hotz told GrindTV. “[This time] I wanted to find a way to integrate some work for a nonprofit in the adventure. I have been so busy working in the film industry the past few years, I haven’t been able to support nonprofits like I wish I could.”

The group utilizes adventurers who are out in the field in hard-to-reach, remote locations to collect data samples on local ecosystems. Their work has led to the discovery of more than two dozen new species and helped measure climate change in hard to access locations.

“I saw they had all these ongoing projects with adventurers who are outdoors already in the areas where they’re trying to grab info,” Hotz said. “So, that was a way to do something I love and give back at the same time.”

Of the six conservation projects Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation is currently undertaking, Hotz decided to join in on the microplastics project after hearing about increasing freshwater contamination levels across the United States.

A photo posted by Julie A Hotz (@julieahotz) on Jul 21, 2015 at 7:12am PDT

“I had heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch [a collection of marine debris particles in the North Pacific Gyres that some estimate to be the size of Texas], which I found pretty disturbing but it was understandable with how often people litter at beaches,” said Hotz. “When I heard about microplastics in freshwater — not just plastic bottles that go into streams, but microplastics that run off from our cosmetic products and our synthetic clothing into our freshwater sources — I knew I had to do something.”

Hotz set out to collect water samples across the Pacific Northwest Trail to mail back to Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation to study. The group hopes they would be able to help identify the sources, composition and distribution of microplastic pollution in water sources worldwide.

Hotz also decided she wanted to do things a little differently on her trip.

“I decided if I was going to do this there could be absolutely no carbon footprint,” Hotz said. “If I was going to do it, I wasn’t driving or flying, I was doing it all on my own.”

A photo posted by Julie A Hotz (@julieahotz) on Jul 6, 2015 at 11:05am PDT

So far things have been going well on her adventure and Hotz is enjoying the ride.

“It’s great seeing this country slowly as opposed to rushing through it on a car or a plane,” said Hotz. “It’s amazing the detail you see and the people you meet walking or biking. I feel like I’m really getting to see the country for the first time this way.”